America does not like to talk about racism. No, I'm not referring to all the performative dancing around about it, where we acknowledge some people do and say bad things or that there are historical events that clearly demonstrate the vile, barbaric ways people have been treated because of their race by others. I'm talking about racism, the institutionalized forms of prejudice based on race.
See, many Americans believe racism is not so wide or deep but merely the one-on-one moments when one person says or does something evil to someone of a different race. In being that reductive, it allows society to dodge the harder questions. After all, if it's just individuals, what can you do? But if it's society -- if there's an overwhelming force of racism that puts minorities at the mercy of the majority, some of who may not directly do anything racist but nonetheless benefit from the power it gives to their race -- that means everyone has some responsibility.
This episode does just that. It challenges the notion that racism has nothing to do with crime unless the criminal signs an affidavit that they attacked someone of a different race because of their race. It challenges the notion that lawyers, judges, and juries don't see plaintiffs and defendants through a racial lens -- that somehow despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, people come into a courtroom (or any room) with exactly zero racial prejudices or stereotypes.
The only real problem with this episode is that it sometimes leans a bit too much on melodrama, with characters who operate more as types to make the point. Paul Robinette, for instance, returns as a defense lawyer and at times gives speeches that run contrary to his cooler and more reserved persona when he was one of the ADAs. Yes, people change, but not that much, and if anything, portraying the cerebral Robinette -- one of the best ADAs the show ever had -- as a now angry Black man seems to opposite of what his arc would be. Given his experience, Robinette should be even more reserved.